TR: North South Lake with a Detour through Ionian Basin

[cjt93]

This is a report for a backpacking trip in August 2022. This would be a trip of firsts, most notably doing a multi-day trip solo with some committing cross-country time. I was fortunate to fit this between the early season fires and monsoon rains at the end of July and a hurricane in September.

Summary
7 days, 6 nights
70 miles
17K gain, 16.6K loss

Itinerary
8/20 - Fly to Vegas -> drive to Bishop -> pack
8/21 - North Lake -> Upper Lamarck Lake -> Lamarck Col -> tarn south of Lake 11540
8/22 - Tarn south of Lake 11540 -> Darwin Bench -> JMT -> Evolution Basin -> Wanda Lake -> Davis Lakes Pass -> Wanda Pass -> Lake 11592
8/23 - Lake 11592 -> Lake 11837 -> Lake 11818 -> Goddard Creek Pass -> Lake 12270 -> Mount Goddard -> back to Lake 11592
8/24 - Lake 11592 -> Chasm Lake -> Lake 11828 -> Black Giant Pass -> Muir Pass/Hut -> Helen Lake -> Lake 10554 (unlabeled east of Black Giant)
8/25- Lake 10554 -> Big/Little Pete Meadow -> Dusy Basin -> pond west of Lake 11345 (unlabeled)
8/26 - Attempted summit of Mt. Agassiz and wandering Dusy Basin just north of Isosceles Peak
8/27 - Lake 11345-> Bishop Pass -> Long Lake -> South Lake
8/28 - Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest -> drive to /fly out of Vegas


Travel Day
Flew into Las Vegas, picked up some final gear from REI (a couple of dinners, fuel, lighter, water) and hit the road to Bishop. After a long 5 hour drive, made it to Bishop where I enjoyed a burger and brew at Mountain Rambler Brewery (recommended!) and began the long process of disassembling the packed gear and reassembling into something that could be carried around the wilderness for a few days. Everything came together wonderfully except for the water/camp shoes. Note to self - it helps to bring both Crocs! Oh well, 13 ounces saved and wouldn’t need them.



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8/21 - Up, up and away - 10 miles, 4K gain, 2K loss, camp at tarn just south of Lake 11540 at 11,591”, 11 hours

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After calorie packing a breakfast burrito, muffin and coffee at Looney Bean (recommended!), I anxiously made my way to North Lake. After double checking that I had both shoes this time, I left the car to its fate roasting in the Sierra sun and proceeded up the road to the trailhead. In what would be a theme of the trip, I was stopped and enjoyed a long conversation with another hiker who had just made the switch from an Osprey Atmos AG 65 to a Hyperlite pack like me. After realizing he had just come from my destination of Darwin Bench, he warned me of a long day ahead. Of course, he would end up being correct and this would turn out to be a really tough first day.

The early morning sights and smells of the trail soon came back to me as I started chipping away at the 4K climb. I’d completely miss Lower Lamarck Lake, but took the detour for water and the scenery of Upper Lamarck Lake. The geography quickly changed after Upper Lamarck Lake to more barren and sandy. This part of the hike was long, but scenic, particularly looking over the shoulder back down into the Owens Valley and the White Mountains in the distance. Mount Humphreys was particularly impressive to the north, towering above the surrounding ridges.

Finally made it to the first test of the trip - Lamarck Col. The supposed lake at the base of the Col was more of a puddle in August despite the earlier rains. I immediately recognized the “Muir Hut” rock and the path up. Also benefited from another pair of hikers coming down! After a short scramble, I was greeted by the magnificent view of Mt. Darwin/Mendel and the Darwin Lakes.

After taking way too many pictures and safely enjoying hearing some rockfall from a distance in the direction of Darwin, I took aim at the land dividing the most easterly 5th and 4th Darwin Lakes (Southwest) and weaved among boulders and cliff bands connecting various use trails. I can see how trying to find Lamarck Col going the opposite direction (Northeast) would be more of a navigational challenge as there was no clear landmark to navigate towards.

And so began the challenging part of the day - navigating the Darwin Lakes. Despite reading a forum post and heeding the advice to hug the banks on the north side of each lake, I still managed to make slow progress over and around the boulders. There were a few locations that were particularly challenging and tedious. I found the slope angle shading accurate in identifying these short areas where some class 2 moves were required. Tedious and energy consuming, I made it to the peninsula of Lake 11592 before stopping for an early dinner and recovery.

Between my lack of energy at this point and some advice that the Darwin Bench might be crowded, I decided to change plans and head north to Lake 11540. I settled on my first campsite at a tarn just south of 11540 and enjoyed setting up camp during golden hour. Being unacclimated at 11,500+ feet, I slept fitfully but grateful to be horizontal. Thank goodness for the ability to set a timer on cameras!



8/22 - Welcome to Hotel Ionian - 10.4 miles, 2.2K gain, 2.2K loss, camp to the east of Lake 11,698”, 9 hours

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It didn’t take much research to discover that the North/South Lake Loop is one of the most scenic routes in the Sierra. However, after reading way too many trip reports here, I found out that the infamous Ionian Basin was just a “pass” and a few miles away. Why not detour through it? After reading lots of trip reports, I felt this would be a great highlight to the trip and decided to give it a go.

I slowly packed up the gear after a breakfast and meandered south through Darwin Bench, my plan A campsite. Really peaceful here. After loosing and picking up the trail multiple times after the main lake in Darwin Bench, I intersected the JMT, never being happier to land on well-trodden soil. I found myself taking a more Southerly direction that I should have when trying to intersect the JMT. A slightly SW path would have kept me on more of the use trails.

I took my time hiking through Evolution Valley, because why not? I stopped for lunch on a small peninsula on the north side of Sapphire Lake with great views looking south to Mount Huxley and the Goddard Divide. FYI - the bear canisters makes for a great foot stool when sitting in a chair. Before I knew it, I was at Wanda Lake and decision time.

My original plan was Nietzsche Col (Solomons Pass), but after catching a view of this path from a distance, the top part of the pass looked too steep for comfort. On to Plan B - Wanda Pass. With the annoyance of the Darwin Lake boulders still fresh on my mind and my desire to see Davis Lake basin, I opted to ascend Davis Lakes Pass and traverse over to Wanda Pass. The route to Davis Lakes Pass was manageable, but did require some rock hopping on large boulders. From there, I took a SSE direction to the snow path/pond at 11,600. This was a good place to rest and refill water before starting the ascent. In retrospect, if I did it again, I’d stay along the west bank of Wanda Lake - too many ups and downs to make Davis Pass worth the detour. I’d see it anyway from a better vantage point the next day.

The climb to Wanda Pass was a bit of a slog. I only saw a single cairn in an oddly gray rock that would later remind me of the famous JMT rock monster. After aiming for and reaching this marker, it was just one foot after another up loose talus to the pass. I did encounter a false summit once around 12K, but it was close to the top. After reaching the top, I was greeted by the second fantastic view from atop a pass in 2 days, gazing with my own eyes at the spectacular, remote Ionian Basin!

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I wouldn’t see anyone from the time I left Wanda Lake until I returned to the JMT 2 days later.

The hike down the south side of Wanda Pass was sketchy. Well deserving of the Class 2+ rating. Nothing truly technical, but some slightly exposed spots that required my A game, which was in short supply by this point in the day. In prepping for climbing Mount Goddard, Secor suggests following the Goddard Divide from Wanda Pass to the east slope. I did not see a feasible route here! In fact, I became nervous that I wouldn’t be able to ascend or find my way back up to Wanda Pass for the intended exit in a couple of days. The Eagles couldn’t help but sing their song in my head:

“You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave"

I safely descended to the east of Lake 11592 to what was recommended as one of the few viable campsites in all of Ionian Basin. This area is definitely bivy country! After Thai Curry for dinner, I was happy to skip the night photography and crawl in to bed.

8/23 - Tour de Ionian West - 10.2 miles, 3.4K gain, 3.4K loss, same camp, 9 hours (no pack)

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This would be the second trip where I tried a new approach to route planning - hike the heavy backpack to a location and do day-hikes. Plan A was to spend a couple of days wandering Ionian Basin without 35+ lb of gear on the back. With my concern about exiting Ionian via Wanda Pass, I decided to explore western Ionian Basin without the pack, but include eastern Ionian in the “escape” the next day.

I started the day walking out on the peninsula on the south shore of Lake 11592 to get a panoramic view across the lake. I then made my way up to Lake 11837. My morning path was not optimal as I took a path too close to point 11978 along a ridge. The better path that I took on returning to camp is to follow the intermittent stream/creek between 11592 and 11837. So would begin a full day of rewarding micro-navigation trial & error.

After filling up water at a gully that provided easy access to the SE shore of 11837, I encountered the crux of the route finding in Ionian Basin for the day - navigating around the south side of Lake 11837. The key here was to stay around the 11,950 contour. Any lower, I’d encounter ridges requiring more climbing than I was comfortable doing. I kept it class 2 max by staying close to 12K. This also led very nicely to a narrow “path” that fed into the pass on the west side of 11837.

Compared to the rock hopping of 11837, the section between Lakes 11837 and 11818 felt like a highway with minimal elevation gain/loss and less rock hopping. I dropped down to Lake 11837 by loosely following the creek on the south side. After walking along the south bank of 11818 and admiring the crystal clear waters, I made it to the land bridge at the west shore of 11818. This was a great way to cross. I would see the only “campsite” in Ionian halfway across this bridge.

To get to Goddard Creek Pass, I followed the advice on this forum by ascending the ridge to the WNW of 11818 and stayed at an elevation of 12,200. I initially went too far north toward 11951 and quickly realized that cliffs were going to block my path. After correcting my line, I found another “highway” path of minimal rocks to Goddard Creek Pass. Navigating to Goddard Col and the west shore of Lake 12274 (unlabeled) south of Mount Goddard was straight-forward. I enjoyed lunch pondering the best route up Goddard.

My original route was to ascend the true Goddard Peak from the east side of the lake (i.e., east slopes). After staring at the Southeast slopes during lunch and wanting to take a break from the larger rocks, I decided to take the more direct path. The initial climb was on loose, steep, sandy soil. I stayed to the left (south) side of the use trail for some better traction on rocks. After making it to 12,800, the climb turned into a class 1 walkup to the west part of the summit. There is a class 3 route across a gap to the true summit, but I was content with the views from a few feet lower. A rather uninteresting climb with great views around.

After doing the math of spending X hours out already and expecting X hours to return to camp, I retraced my steps to Lake 11592. A stretch goal was to visit Serpent Lake and Scylla/Ragged Spur, but I didn’t have the energy (or flashlight!). Next trip. A leisurely evening cleaning up and sitting was reward for a great day.

8/24 - Birthday and Escape from Ionian - 9.6 miles, 1.9K gain, 2.8K loss, camp at 10,574, 10 hours

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Chasm Lake - the lake at the head of the Enchanted Gorge, guarded by Charybdis on the east and the Three Sisters/Scylla on the west - just sounded cool when researching Ionian. And today would be the day I get to see it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect on the route from 11592 to Chasm Lake. The only info I knew was to stay on the west side of the creek. This was good advice! After a short and non eventful 30 minute descent, I was at Chasm Lake. Clear tranquil waters awaited. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to see underwater so clearly. There was supposedly a campsite in the meadows north of Chasm Lake, but I didn’t see anything resembling an established site.

The part of Ionian Basin south of Mount Solomons had the greatest feeling of remoteness, which was surprising since I expected this to be a higher trafficked route due to intersecting the Kings Canyon High Basin Route. Encountering another person would just have to wait a little longer. While a bit of a slog across the wide open section, I was constantly impressed by the crumbling north side of Charybdis.

Approaching the headwall protecting 11828 was particularly impressive. This headwall just north of Charybdis was vertical and imposing over the lake. I followed a use trail north of the creek draining 11828 to reach the lake and final piece of my journey through Ionian. The path was sandy and loose, reminding me of the Goddard climb the day before. Some vegetation and rocks provided slightly better traction about 50 feet farther north and away from the creek.

After a relaxing lunch (except for lots of pesky flies!) and contemplating the route up Charybdis and Black Giant Pass, I decided it was time to try to say farewell to Ionian. I had originally wanted to day-hike up Black Giant and drop down via Ionian Pass into the basin east of Charybdis, returning via Charybdis Col, but felt this was way too ambitious given my time. Next trip. Contrary to several trips reports, I found that Black Giant Pass was straightforward (thankfully!) crossing south to north. The key was to follow a black ridge NNE keeping a large section or orange rock on the left and a large runout of orange rock on my right. Descending to 11939 was more challenging as I tried to take what looked like a more contour-friendly path on the east side of the lake. Poor choice - I should have dropped straight down to the lake. My experience is exactly the opposite as the description of the pass on this forum, which claims the north side is more straightforward!

Anxious to return to civilization, I headed for one of the lakes between Muir Pass and Helen Lake where I enjoyed a chair break watching JMT hikers. In reflection, I had no issue with the solitude of the last 48 hours. I did however have a little anxiety in resuming contact with other people though. All it took was an icebreaker at my detour to Muir Pass/Hut and I was once again a “normal” member of society. Random thought - would Muir have approved of the hut at the top of Muir Pass? He seemed like a No Trace Principles kind of guy and might have taken offense at the structure built in the wilderness?

Unfortunately on the way down from Muir Pass, I developed a tightness/pain in my left Achilles. I still can’t explain where it came from since I hadn’t stumbled or strained anything up till now. I told myself I should have stayed off the trail and that the JMT was the culprit! Perhaps the new insoles I tried for the trip? Pushing too hard on the downhill? Oh well. I would walk rather gingerly on it for another 3 miles, admiring Helen Lake, the break in the Black Divide and change in rock, and the return of foliage. Along with people, I had also missed the color green on anything higher than grass the past few days! I eventually landed at a campsite at a lake in the shadow of the Black Giant. A truly epic camp site after another long but satisfying day. Happy Birthday to me.

To be continued...

[cjt93]

8/25 - LeConte Canyon and Dusy Basin - 12 miles, 2.7K gain, 2.1K loss, camp at 11,322, 9.5 hours

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Today would be the long mileage day, but mostly on trail. After sleeping in a bit due to more evening photography, I reunited with the JMT and traveled through the usual destinations of Big Pete Meadow, Little Pete Meadow, and eventually the intersection w/the Dusy Basin trail. After short detours to take selfies at the rock monster, admire the LeConte ranger station (looked brand new!) and fill up water at the footbridge, I began the switchbacks to Dusy Basin.

About 20 minutes in, it started raining. I felt a little guilty since I had told a passing hiker that no rain was in the forecast for today. Whoops! If you’re reading this, sorry! In my defense, my guardian angel/weatherman/dad was monitoring and passing along weather reports from a local source (Mattinson) via InReach. Apparently I should always round up from 20% to 100% in regards to rain chances in the Sierra. After trying to wait it out for 15 minutes, I threw on the poncho and carried on. On a side note, I think I’m on team poncho in the Sierra. It worked out surprisingly well for me, particularly with airflow. A true test would be to use it during thunderstorm season in June/July.

Shortly after arriving in Dusy Basin, I hit another energy wall and stopped for an early dinner overlooking several of the lakelets west of Knapsack Pass. Dinner did little to boost my energy so after wandering around Lake 11345 for a camp site, settled at the end just downstream of the lake for camp. I originally wanted to make it to Lake 11388 to camp on the east side for photos of Isosceles/Milky Way, but just wasn’t confident I could navigate the surprisingly tricky topography of the basin. I’d easily find a path to Lake 11388 the next day, but it seemed insurmountable at the moment.

8/26 - Agassiz and Wandering Dusy - 7.7 miles + 2 miles, 1.8K gain, 1.8K loss, 6.5 hours (no pack)

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Woke up today not feeling too rested and the Achilles irritating me. I had originally intended for today to be a no-pack hike over Knapsack Pass, exploring Palisade Basin, and returning via Thunderbolt Col. Instead, I decided to head up to Bishop Pass and summit the “only” class 2 Mount Agassiz and see Palisade Glacier for an “easy” day. Foreshadowing - Agassiz was a little more challenging than expected.

I made quick time up to Bishop Pass where I navigated over to Lake Who(?) for a refill of water and route analysis. I was incredibly fortunate to meet another hiker who was also making an attempt at Agassiz. Having a partner for this one was truly a blessing. In my brief research of routes up the west slope, there seemed to be several chutes leading up to the top. I understood the one on the right (farther south) to be optimal, but we ended up aiming for the chute directly in front of us with 2 spires guarding the way halfway up. Progress was slow up the chute due to the loose talus requiring careful foot placement. Once we reached one of the strangest but coolest rock formations I’ve ever seen defying gravity, we moved across the ridge to our left (north) to the next chute over. This lead to a good 30 minutes of challenging route finding with class 3 moves. There is definitely a wide range of interpretations of class 2, because this route in no way resembled the class 2 route of Goddard several days ago. Between my lack of comfort and some questionable looking clouds coming in from behind the peak, we decided to abandon and return to Bishop Pass. A great experience despite not summiting, with the highlight being the shared conversation afterwards on future trip ideas and Sierra/gear information sharing.

I returned to camp where I enjoyed an afternoon of playing with the camera and sitting. Lots of sitting. After an early dinner of Cous Cous, I did find the energy to wander southeast through the basin to Lake 11388 (the original target camp) and enjoyed some late evening light on the mountains. The relaxed pace of wandering without much of a plan was a welcome reprieve from the waypoint-filled trek so far.


8/27 - Bishop Pass and out - 7.4 miles, 1K gain, 2.3K loss, no camp, 5 hours on the move

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As usual on my last days hiking, I lingered wherever I could - breaking camp, having conversations with others, lunch, etc. Always appreciate the lighter pack on the feet and legs at the end of a trip. I was originally going to take the East Bishop shuttle to the road leading leading to North Lake and hike the 2 miles to the car, but managed to get a ride directly to the car by fellow hikers ending their journey at South Lake. Thanks Greg & Matt!

Return Travel Day
Not much to report here except an early departure from Bishop and a few hour stop at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest for the Methuselah path (~4 miles). Really neat visit and highly recommend!


Reflection
- Anyone ever flown directly into Bishop airport? Might consider this option for future trips.
- Topo maps are nice, but only provide maybe 25% of the needed info for trip with cross-country pieces. Huge thank you to everyone who provides intel via trip reports on this forum. I would not have covered nearly the ground I did in Ionian without the trip reports.
- A 20k battery bank was just barely enough for keeping a camera, phone, watch, and InReach charged over 7 days. Time-lapse photography eats batteries alive.
- Wish I had an extra day to explore Ionian a bit more (Scylla, Ragged Spur, Black Giant) and a slightly slower pace for wandering immediately around camps. Two days just wasn’t quite enough.

[michaelzim]

This function does not seem to be working as wrote a reply and it got booted with a "Page not working" window...So testing it here. M

[wildhiker]

Thanks for the interesting trip report. Glad to see you had mostly good weather. It was rain, rain, rain in early August. I climbed Mt. Goddard from Martha Lake way back in 1977. Your photo of Ionian basin reminded me of how great the view was from the top. At the time, I thought Ionian Basin looked very forbidding, but the pink granite to the east in the Evolution Basin area was inviting. Sure enough, I never made it to Ionian Basin, but have been to Evolution Basin twice - and will probably try to get there again. Reports like yours are enjoyable since I will never make it to those rougher areas now (age 70).
-Phil

[frozenintime]

great report, thanks for posting. more photos next time

[kpeter]

A beautifully illustrated trip report, I appreciate all the map-work, and there are some nice photos too. Well done.

[Gazelle]

Great report! I love Ionian basin, have done almost all of the peaks, it is interesting travel but well worth it and very hard to find decent camp spots. Davis lakes basin is spectacular for a future trip then head over to Martha lake? Just a thought but I find Echo col quite fun! Most people would probably disagree!

[CAMERONM]

Well this is a very enjoyable trip report of a fantastic itinerary- your research paid off.
Ionian is strange and wonderful, but there is not really a reason to linger there, except to hit the other peaks.
With a little ultralight effort, your starting weight *could* drop to 24 lbs. Just sayin-
File this: Looney Bean is adequate, but Black Sheep has better espresso and breakfast burritos.
Glad you scored on this one...

[michaelzim]

OK "Reply" function is working again...
This is a helluva good trip report! Very thorough. Very detailed.
Great route.
Great maps.
Great summaries and 'reporting'.
Great photos.
What more to ask?! Not much.
Thanks for this.....Michaelzim

[Lumbergh21]

The views of the Ionian Basin from Mount Goddard as well as Wanda Pass are very tempting to me, though I don't know if I will ever make it there now. Thanks for the maps too, it really helped me follow along.